Thrust and radial supporting bearing



Nov. 11, 1952 w. T. HONISS THRUST AND RADIAL SUPPORTING BEARING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed June 22, 1950 INVENTOR W/L LIAM 7: HON/SS .4 7' TORNEYS Nov. 11, 1952 w. T. HONISS 2,617,695

' THRUST AND RADIAL SUPPORTING BEARING Filed June 22, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 '6 Q Q5 k INVENTOR I Lk WILLIAM J. HON/SS A TTORNEYS Patented Nov. 11, 1952 "2,617,695 THRUST-ZANDFRADIAL"SUPPORTING BEARING.

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nmhep n n m orq n arm have in eneral nsat s aet r bwau q f ra d ar,

dgfisri ra i n an ieri ur -in .e. v ce- It is no n $ib1 o u e kn wnub iqan s fo such bea ings hefiau 9 thehe t. t0 which t Q ax- A. Attfimnts ta "kfiQR @1121; bearin s coo by an m w ling ai fiz qretqha q c mple ei pl eq -t d fiqu kty th b tio o h. tem i'amm an xi iz ng ac on te t r duce. h: urf ae pqr i ns fi hairelativel movnw ma ting h ts =t9 hi hl -ab asive p wder i -h h aqflitat s. wea .01 y: 'mla zivel-y m v n 1W 'hqb ls rbl ars m b zed an this d 1 W i Q11 W63? 0 we r tat n 1. 9 t turns 10 .1 tha sei barin le'- merita is xequ nfi y"ne e si at d costlym qe ent oi"nar ssex end ng'be o act al ri sf 19611? qf hg rwnt nvanb qn' 'top o e effi en ab an durable piqarin mea f r tbs whatho ders 0f rairactery tubes of lass 50 as. t 9 51 a bearing air cus n or 9 surmo ted portion of the rotary geil gcisqrymbg oj'a glassfeeder or'the sta ic ary'supportin pa l 1 the-hm rQtafiQ wear on the relatively v mg parts. will be eliminated and the holder its aummrtmlmbe can bie rotated anti-frictiqnally withouhgleteriqrabion of parts in the hot zjng atmosphere to which these parts are Morqover, 'the bearing air. serves the further rlfmciiion offlaofing thefrela'tively 'rot'atingand adjacent partsfand; this at no gr'e'ateit cost than that 'Qf-"the air previously used solely fdr coql'ing, the parts of "prior arrangements for suporting rotary tube holders. ofgl'am fedrsrby use, of; metallio bgaringelements;

in the 'aCQOmpanyin drawings" in h ,b l' i fi- 113; kiy dot,- .6 2. flfi i k 6r s'sh x iirs iwt a sidehfi 'qli hla mm .o h tube? mmitsieatd n holdr and a sur rQ ation-of, hetube 2. w h the older I when the Water is rotated abautits vertical axis.

The holder I is anti-frictionally mounted in an annular bearing housing which may be an integral part of a generally horizontal supporting arm 6. The supporting arm 6 is secured at one end by suitable clamping means I to the upper end of a vertical supporting shaft 8 which depends through a stationary bearing 9. Only the upper end portion of the shaft 8 is shown. In a complete feeder structure, such vertical supporting shaft is adjustably supported by suitable adjusting means (not shown) so that the arm 6 is suitably located to position the tube. 2 depending therefrom in a predetermined operative position in a molten glass feeding container (not shown). The end of the arm 6 remote from the vertical shaft 8 may be positioned in guided engagement at I!) with a suitable projecting guid II on a vertical support I2. A motor I3 on the support I2 drives a sprocket I4. A chain I5 is trained about the sprocket I4 and about an annular sprocket I6 which fits upon an external flange I! on the upper end of the holder I and isrigidly secured thereto by ca screws I8 or in any other suitable known manner. When the holder I is rotatably mounted in the bearing housing 5, as by bearing means of the invention as hereinafter described, operation of the motor I3 will drive the chain l5 and effect rotation of the holder I and the tube 2 carried thereby about their common vertical axis.

The novel bearing means of the present invention in the form shown in Fig. 1 comprises an air discharge ring I9 held in the bearing housing 5 directly beneath the flange Il on the upper end of the holder I. The air discharge ring I9 preferably has a flat upper surface 29 of about the same outer diameter as the overlying lower surface of the flange H, such lower surface also being flat as indicated at 2I. The air discharge ring I9 has a cylindrical inner peripheral wall 22 fitting closely around but spaced slightly outward from the outer peripheral surface of the portion ofthe tubular holder I within the ring I9 when the holder I is centered in the housing 5 with its flange II overlying the air discharge ring. The top surface is normal to the inner peripheral wall 22 of the air discharge ring I9 in the example shown. The bottom surface, indicated at 23, of the ring I9 may be, parallel to the top surface 20. Th outer peripheral wall, as, may be parallel to the cylindrical inner peripheral wall 22. These bottom and outer peripheral surfaces of the air discharge ring are suitable to make the ring fit snugly in a counterbore 25 in the annular housing 5 so that the ring rests upon an upwardly facing shoulder 25a at the bottom of the counterbore from th outer peripheral surface of the ring inwardly for a sufficient distance to stabilize the position of the ring in the housing.

The air discharge ring I9 has a circular internal bore or chamber 26 therein which may be supplied with cooling air through an intake port 21, Fig. 2, from a suitable supply pipe 28. Discharge of air from this chamber 26 at the top of the ring is through numerous jet holes 29 arranged in a circle in closely adjacent spaced relation in such top as best seen in Fig. 3, the upper ends of the jet holes 29 being counterbored and upwardly enlarging, as indicated at 30. With this arrangement, the air emerging from these top outlets 29, 30 will form a continuous cushion or film of air beneath the bottom wall 2I of the.

flange IT on the upper end of the holder I which will support the holder for rotation about its axis relative to the air ring without frictional contact of its supported flange portion with the underlying top of the air discharge ring. I have found that a film of air .001 to .002 inches thick between the top of the air discharge ring and the tube holder flange will permitthe holder to rotate freely on such air cushion without friction between the relatively rotating undersupported and supporting parts.

The holder I may be maintained centered in the bearing air discharge ring I9 by air discharged from the ring through suitable jet holes in its inner peripheral wall. These jet holes are spaced angularly apart in a circular series as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Each comprises a relatively small inner, air intake end portion 3I and a larger, counterbored outer, air discharge portion 32. These tube centering air jet holes are closer together in the portion of the air discharge ring toward .which the tubular holder tends to be pulled by its driving chain than on the opposite side of the air discharge ring. For example, the jet holes 3|, 32 on the chain pull side may be spaced apart 6 as indicated for the left hand approximate third portion of the ring I9 in Fig. 3 while the jet holes 3|, 32 for the remaining approximate two-thirds of the ring are spaced approximately 12 apart as shown in the same view. As indicated in Figs. 1 and 4, the jet holes 3i 32 may be inclined inwardly and upwardly from their inner to their outer enlarged ends.

Air supplied to the bore or chamber of the ring I9 from the supply pipe 28 may be obtained from any suitable source of supply. It has been found in tests that an air pressure of three pounds inside the air discharge ring is sufiicient to support as much as fifty pounds in addition to the tube holder and its supported tube and to resist satisfactorily a chain' pull of approximately thirty pounds while the tube holder is floating free and rotating without rubbing. Air from the internal bore or chamber of the ring I9 passes upwardly through the supporting air jet holes 29, 39 to form a series of air cushions merging into a continuous film of air between the top of the ring and the overlying holder flange. Air may bleed from this film to the atmosphere through a narrow annular outlet 33 which may be provided by slightly enlarging the upper portion of the inner wall of the' annular bearing housing 5 around the upper portion of the ring I9.

Air passing from the interior of ring I9 through the centering air jet holes SI, 32 will maintain the encircled portion of the holder within the ring approximately centered in the ring. Air of the centering film and in the outer enlarged ends of the centering jet holes at the chain pull side of the ring will be compressed to offer an increased resistance as the chain tends to pull the holder toward that side of the ring. At the opposite side of the air discharge ring, the chain pull tends to open up the air film and to release pressure from the enlarged discharge ends of the jet holes 3 I, 32. Some air from the space between the ring I9 and the encircled portion of the holder may pass into the upper space between the top of the air ring and the supported holder flange. Air passing downwardly in such space and out'of the bottom thereof as indicated by the direction arrow 34 in Fig. 4 may escape to the atmosphere through an annular space 35 between the bottom of the housing 5 and the adjacent portion of the holder I.

a g '9 a so emc enti cools the tube holder and the. airringc It a heenfoune that app ox a ta r pe mi ute wi satire match- 2w -h i factorily operate this air bearing and also cool thetube holder andrairri This is just ab'mlt If desired, a pressure switch "of' 'any suitable known type maybe installed in theair supply systemtoishut off the motor for driving therotating; tubular-"holder in the event. of air supply failure. i

Y theembodiment of the-inven n showed Fi e-J6. substan ial y hor z s p t ng ar 36 is supported at 31 near one of its ends on an upright support 38 and is retained at its opposite end at 39 by a projecting retaining element 40 on a stationary support 41. The supporting arm 36 is formed intermediately to provide an annular housing 42 in which a bearing air discharge ring 43 is set.

The air discharge ring 43 is provided with a series of angularly spaced jet holes in its top wall 44, each of these jet holes comprising a small diameter lower air intake portion 45 and an inlarged flaring upper air discharge portion 46, as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The air discharge ring 43 is provided with an air inlet port 41 with which a pressure air supply pipe 48 is operatively connected so as to supply air at the desired pressure and in the desired amount to an internal chamber 49 in the ring 43. Overlying the ring 43 is an outwardly extendingfiange 50 on the upper end portion of a tubular main holder for a refractory tube 52.

The refractory tube 52 comprises a series of segmental sections 52a, see Fig. "I, each having an outwardly turned flange 53, Fig. 6, at its upper end held in a seat 54 in its individual tube se ment holder, generally indicated at 55. These tube segment holders are arranged in a circular series and rest in a seat 56 in a reduced lower end portion 51 of the holder 51. The holder assembly. thus supports the refractory tube on the ring 43 for rotation relative to the latter on an air film supplied by the ring as presently will be explained.

An annular sprocket 58 is fastened in place on the top of the holder 5|, as by cap screws 59, and

. is driven by a chain 60 operatively connecting this sprocket with a drive sprocket 6 I, Fig. 6.

The holder assembly of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 6 may be kept centered in relation to the bearing air discharge ring 43 by a plurality of angularly spaced centering rollers 62 mounted on the arm 36 to bear against the outer periphery of the flanged upper end portion of the. holder 5i as shown by Figs. 6 and 7 together.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6 is substantially like that of the Fig. 1 form of the device except for the centering of the refractory tube holder. A supporting film of air will be provided between the top of the air ring and the overlying supported portion of the tubular main holder 5! so that the holder assembly and the refractory tube supported thereby will rotate freely and without friction in the bearing housing and in relation to the air discharge ring.

If desired, a vertical cleanout opening 63 may be provided in a portion of the outwardly enlarged or flanged upper portion of the main holder 5| on the same radius as that of each of the supporting air jet holes in the air ring and may be. aligne ith. th ie holes. suc ssively enf l e heldera s mb vi s u themotor off; Asuiftableclean j be. inserted through the cleanoutop and througnjeach underlying ij'ejtholefto clear; it

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l- 'Ehe emb ationwith a fiitarryy aljtufiw ar m m er hav g, anxt rnally n are t imer portion, of an'air bearing for said member, said air bearing comprising a hollow ring occupying a, relatively fixed position surrounding a portion of the tubular member directly beneath its externally enlarged portion and sufliciently larger than the surrounded portion of the tubular member to permit the latter to rotate freely about its in its top opening directly beneath the externally enlarged upper portion of the tubular member for the discharge of air under pressure to form a film of air between the top of the ring and the overlying outwardly enlarged portion of the tubular member to support the latter for rotation about its axis relative to the ring without frictional contact with the top of said ring, means to supply air under pressure to the interior of said ring, means including a flexible driving element operatively associated with the rotary tubular member to rotate the latter about its axis and relative to said ring in such manner as to tend to pull the tubular member laterally toward one side of said ring, and means acting on the tubu lar member at a plurality of angularly spaced places around its periphery to maintain said tubular member approximately centered in said ring during rotation thereof despite the lateral pull thereon.

2. The combination defined by claim 1 wherein said last named means comprises angularly spaced jet holes in the inner peripheral wall of said ring around the surrounded portion of said tubular member for discharge of air under presgether in the portion of said ring toward which i the rotating means for the tubular member tends to pull the tubular member than in the opposite portion of said ring, whereby to maintain the tubular member spaced from the inner wall of the ring at all points therearound despite the pull of the rotating means on the tubular member toward one side of said ring.

3. An air bearing as defined by claim 2 wherein said jet holes in the inner peripheral wall of said ring are inclined upwardly toward their outer discharge ends.

4. An air bearing as defined by claim 1 wherein said last named means comprises a plurality of vertical rollers located at angularly spaced relativelyfixed positions around and in contact with the outer periphery of a, portion of said rotary tubular member.

5. The method of rotatably supporting a verti- V cal tubular member having an externally enlarged upper portion which comprises discharging jets of air under pressure upwardly against the under surface of said externally enlarged portion of the tubular member at numerous closely adjacent angularly spaced points in a circle directly therebeneath to provide a supporting film of air therefor and applying numerous inwardly directed jets of air spaced angularly in a circle closely surrounding a, portion of said tubular member against the outer periphery thereof to maintain said tubular member approximately centered in relation to said circle of upwardly directed jets and so that relatively more inward jets and greater air pressure are applied perunit of arcuate extent to the portion of the outer periphery of the tubular member atthe side of said circle toward which said tubular member tends to 15 2,

move laterally under pull from a means for r0- tating it than to the opposite portion of said periphery.

WILLIAM T. HONISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STAT ES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,906,715 Penick May 2, 1933 2,354,296 Arms July 25, 1944 2,379,405 Armitage July 3, 1945 Potts Mar, 28, 1950 

